Sartana nella valle degli avvoltoi (1970)

Director:

Roberto Mauri

Writers:

Roberto Mauri (screenplay)
Roberto Mauri (story)

Release Date:

May 1972 (Turkey)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Dynamite | Music Box | Treasure Hunt | Ransom | Landlady

Cast

William Berger	...	Lee Calloway aka Sartana
Wayde Preston	...	Anthony Douglas
Aldo Berti	...	George Douglas
Carlo Giordana	...	Slim Douglas
Franco De Rosa	...	Peter Douglas
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Paco (as Alan Collins)
Jolanda Modio	...	Juanita
Pamela Tudor	...	Esther
Josiane Tanzilli	...	Carmencita
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claudio Aponte
Bruno Arié
Betsy Bell	...	Saloon singer
Federico Boido
Gaetano Imbró
Franco Ressel	...	Norton

Also Known As:

Ballad of Death Valley (USA)
Sartana in the Valley of Death (International: English title)
Sartana in the Valley of the Vultures (USA)

Runtime:

Spain:95 min | UK:78 min (edited version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Iceland:12

Company:

Victor Produzione

Mildly diverting spaghetti western

While "Django" was the most-ripped off name in spaghetti westerns, I think "Sartana" must be in second place. Though the hero of this spaghetti western dresses in black, he is not the fantastic Sartana character John Garko played in several movies. For one thing, he's played by William Berger - pretty appropriate, since this character is an anti-hero. (And he's not even named Sartana!)

The story is pretty confusing, with some bad editing and a lack of explanation in some key scenes (like: where do those explosions on the city street come from?) But the story takes several interesting twists and turns, like how power switches back and forth from one character to another. And it's interesting to see Berger as a kind of hero, after playing the heavy in so many other roles. Movie also has one of the more memorable theme songs - "King For A Day" - even though it doesn't really apply to Berger's character or anyone else!